Portable animal shelter



July 12, 1955 c. M. HYDE 2,712,677

PORTABLE ANIMAL SHELTER Filed Feb. 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l nvvs/vrom CEC/L M HYDE 29 A TTORNE Y5 July 12, 1955 c. M. HYDE 2,712,677

PORTABLE ANIMAL SHELTER Filed Feb. 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR GEO/L M. HYDE 17 M ;:'M

A TTORNEYS United States Patent 2,712,677 PORTABLE ANIMAL SHELTER Cecil M. Hyde, Counersville, Ind. Application February 24, 1950, Serial No. 146,036 2 Claims. (Cl. -2)

The present invention relates particularly hog houses.

On the average farm, hog houses are generally made in rough-board fashion, without design or plan, and with very little comfort aiforded the hog. As a result, the health of the animal and its propensity to breed often become impaired. These installations are definitely not portable but instead are fixed to the ground, so that when a new place for the hogs is indicated, the hog house must be torn down and rebuilt, again in a haphazard manner.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an animal shelter having extreme portability and made of relatively inexpensive material, so designed as to permit to animal shelters, more the erection of the shelter in place by relatively unskilled,

labor.

Another object is to provide an improved animal shelter of a ready-made type which can be transported in a knocked-down condition and easily erected on location by the user with ordinary tools.

Still another object is to provide a hog house made of fiat, inter-fitted members, held together by detachable securing devices and capable of being erected according to a predetermined size and shape.

A further object is to provide a hog house with elements made of wood or metal and adapted to be fitted together and detachably held by bolts or screws so as to be easily erected for the first time or taken apart and reereeted at a distant location.

- Another object is to provide an improved animal shelter in which provision is made by its construction for ventilation and the full admission of sunshine, and is also capable of protecting the interior from rain and snow.

A still further object is to provide an animal shelter ,having readily erectable elements of size, shape and dimension such that the minimum material is employed and the cost correspondingly reduced.

Another object is to provide an animal shelter of the knock-down type having quadrilateral sides and a slanting roof, all constituted of fiat material such as plywood, and fitted together at detachable joints.

Another object is to provide an animal shelter made of plywood or other elements with the rear side and roof hinged together to permit opening of these elements and admit air or sunlight through the top or at the rear of the shelter.

Another object is to provide a portable hog house formed of light but sturdy sides, bottom and top, the parts being detachably secured together and supported on skids.

The final object is to provide a portable hog house formed of self-supporting plywood sides and roof, detachably secured together, and in which the rear side and top portions are adapted to be lifted away from the.

house to atford ventilation and admission of sunlight, the rear side also serving as a shade at the back of the house.

The above objects are carried out in brief by provid- 2,712,677 Patented July 12, 1955 ing flat plywood panels cut to proper size and dimension, fitted with hinges and bolt holes in predetermined places such that the house can be quickly erected on skids or wheels according to plan. By removing some of the bolts and providing detachable support bars or struts, one or more of the sides of the house and the roof can be tilted away from the frame in order to allow full access to the interior of the house and thereby admit sunlight and provide shade and ventilation.

The invention will be better understood when reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved animal shelter;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view;

Figure 3 represents a front elevational View of the structure;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary rear view showing the manner in which the rear side of the house can be lifted to provide additional ventilation and shade;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken at the line 55 in Figure 2 and showing the platform or bottom of the house with the cross braces in place;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the top portion of the hog house with the lid or roof tilted upwardly; and

Figure 7 represents a perspective view showing the parts of the improved hog house in a knocked-down condition ready for shipment.

The animal shelter, improved in accordance with the principle of the invention, comprises a four-sided compartment, although it must be understood that other shapes may be employed. The side walls and the top member are made preferably of plywood or" any suitable type, and constituted of at least a plurality of layers and having an overall thickness of about /8". The bottom member is also constituted of plywood, preferably thicker than the sides and having greater strength, the overall thickness being approvimately /2".

The bottom portion 1 preferably comprises a square member, i. e. having the same dimensions on all sides,

and is constituted of any inflexible, tough, hard-wearing I material such as plywood. The

lowermost ply is traversed by aplurality of braces 2, equally spaced and extending preferably cross-wise of the grain of the ply. These braces rest at each end on a pair of skids 13,

preferably made of hardwood, relatively thick, so as to spread the pressure of the house and the contained animals over a large surface.

The sides of the house indicated at 4 extend upwardly from the bottom or platform 1 and are quadrilateral in shape and one edge indicated at 5 tapers inwardly toward the other edge indicated at 6 (Fig. 2), and the top edge 7 of each side tapers slightly upward from the upper end of the edge 5 toward the upper end of the edge 6. These sides are strengthened in the vertical direction by a pair of braces 8, 9, the brace 8 being vertically parallel to the edge 6 and the brace 9 inclining at an angle to be parallel to the edge 5. These braces are of longer length than the height of the side 4 so as to leave extending portions 10 at the bottom and portions 11 at the top. The braces 8 and 9 are secured to the sides 4, preferably by screws (not shown) and the entire side assembly is secured to the front and back elements of the hog house by bolts 12 and 26.

The cross braces 2 rest at each end on skids 13, these skids having a somewhat longer length than the length of the wall 4, and the latter is secured to the skid by a bolt or screw which passes through the lower portions 10 of the braces 8, 9. These braces, therefore, constitute the sole means of securing the walls 4 to the skids 13. This arrangement offers facility in erecting ldwhich are permanently secured as' by nails or'sc away orreerecting the. hog. house and. at. the. same. time. pro: vides all the strength necessary to fix the hog house as a whole to the skids. The latter are made of wood, reasonablytotigh and fairly thick, so as to'ldistribute the: weight of the hog house over a cbmparauv iyiaigeare' and thereby prevent miring the house in sof t g round Howeverpthe skids are sufficiehtly thin so as tol intro} dnee no excessive frictionwhereby the house ca n be readily mov ed by horsefor automotive force. Any 51m ahlet'ype ofhitch 14 may of-each skidl i The front wall 15 of the house isalso comprised of plyweodf preferably thiee sues; is jiheftdbtikrieeh the inner edge surfaces of the side Wall is reinforced at the two sideedges bya pair of'b s (not shown) to the inner surface of the wall. bracesare preferably of greater width and thicknessg'so that when the front wall is in place the braces will correspond in position exactly opposite braces 8 er the side walls and'the bolts 12 then pass through these innen'braces 16 and :hold

position with respect to the walls.

A'door 17 mounted on hing s the fro nt wall 15 and any suitablekind offastenersuch' as lock strap 19 and :cl asp 2tli pniivided. The edgesof thedoor opening 21 can be reinforced, if desired? by braces 22 of wood which ar fiiredl y seen red to'th e'inte rior surface of the wall 15 by nails or screwstnot-shown);

' The rear wall 24 'of he house is constituted of plywood and has vertical braces along the ester edges, These braces are provided with dpenin gs ZSIfour as shown, for receiving bolts orsere'wsf'2 6 which pass through the braces 9 of the falls and a ts hold the rear wall in positiom However, provision is inad'ej for tilting the. rear Wall upwardly whendesired asffoi' example, in the summer in order to increaee the ventila tioln through thehog houseand provide shade. For this. purpose the central three bolts are retrieved, leayi ng only the upperbolt in place, as shownin Figure 1;" Under these circumstances the wall 2 3 cenpivotjofswivel around these twouppermost bolts Z6ft'o leave a space of desired size between the will, amine bottom rape; portion 1: of thehouse." v N The angle to which the r elar wall 23 can be tilted upwardly is determined by means of. a pair ofrod's.- 7.7 m: each side edge. of the wall, this rod having ahool; at each end, one of which is 'adapted tobedfiserted into one of the openings and theiotherhookbeing ad d to be, received in the opening vacated by one"of th'e. three 'termediate bolts 25. the rear wall 23 is in there a re onl two bolts passing 'tlrou'gh each brace), the'upperniost and" lowermost bolt. Butf thse'twof bolts ari sufficient to 13." 7 i t While under normal circumstances,it is usually desirable a raise the rear warm provide necessary shade, it is to understood that" if dSiredith e front wall may also be raised to the horizontal or any other p'osi tion a n dfsuitably held in that position by rods similar to a tilted posi ion as shown iriFig; 4;

Thus it is possible to front of the hog house. from the sun ficieiit: On the inner surface the top is provided with a es ateee wee Wang 4." Themes from the 'frpnt 18 may be arranged in i i will be n s that we.

hold the sidewalls 4- secure to the It would simply be necessary to remo'vethe the uppermost bolt 12 for shipment,

s stem. otbraces. indicated. at 30. whi on orm $1 9.21,

ally speaking, to the shape of a large letter N, the legs of which are parallel along the ends of the top portion and inter-connected by a diagonal brace 31.

These braces may be constituted of wood and permanently secured as by nails or screws (not shown) to the top member. This top member, is adapted to be tilted upwardly at th nges 28 tof any' desiredheight in order to admit max' ni sunlight or to obtain necessary ven tilation, whi leiat the time serving as a roof or protection against the elements." The angle at which this top member'can be tilted is. determined by a. pair of rods 32 having oppositely.extending hooks at the ends. The opposite hook 'portioii is adapted to be received by one of the several holes or eyelets 33 screwed intothe parallel braces 30 and the hook portion of the rod 32 is received by one of the openings 34 provided near the upperedgesof the .'side wa1lsf4.-

When the top member 29. is letdown to itsrclosei positionlheside edgeswjllffit snuglywithinthe portions 11 of the vertical braces. rigidit'yisprovided forthetop member: atthe. front edge. infthe transversedirection. It has been explained; that, the. uppe'rifedge. 7* of. the. side walls has a slight. slant toward the. rear of.- the. hoglhouse. so. that. when the. top member. or; roof; 29 is. let-down. and rests. upon the. top edges of theffront, sideandrearswalls of the house, the

roof will conform to a slant rearward so. readilyto,

This rail is ofthe conventional type, constituted of wood,

ahdin general protects me young pigsfrornbeingcrnshed or-sufiocatedbythe bodlyiofithemother.

It is. evident. that. since. all. the, corners 01:. joints be,- tween the walls, theifioor orplatform andtheroof are formed-Abybolts, sciewslor othentypes of detachableelemerits; thernain structural. portions. of; the house can be knockeddown. to.-a perfectly flat condition as. shown. Figure 7 and shipped inthis mannerinordento. conserve shipping space. "'Eheicombihation ofltheskids, 13, braces 2: and floor 1- constitute an. excellent. support for; the parts. in the knocked-down conditionand. the. braces; 2, 8 and 9- assist. inv giving rigidity to. they knocked-down, structure as a whole. The. various partscan be. secured togetherfor shipment in any suitablemanner, forexample by "means; oftapair'i offfleitible strapsf36 and a fastener; 31

' It isevidentfrom the. foregoing thatl have. disclosed an improved hog house which has extreme portability both in the. knocked-down, condition, as shown, inEig. 7 and also. after. it hasbeen erected. asillustrated in Fig. l! Themainpa'rts ofithehoghouse'can be, readily placed in position; bylmflskilled laborbecause all. the tools that are necessary is. 'simplya wrenchorwrenches fortightening the bolts tofthe; variousbraces. The. house cati be readily moved across the fields. on: accountof the, skids 13, or if necssaryi, knocked down The plywood walls', roof-and bottom members are. sturdy and'of lightrweight due to theplywood butv it is. obvious. that if desiredthe house, including. the. reinforcing cleats, or braces, can be made of. metal, particularlyv of; aluminum. i

'Itwill. be noted that the bottom of. the house. is. maintainedia distance abovethe groundby reason of. the skids,

and with free circulation of air, both inside and out. This. air circulation can be increasedv byopening. the doorf17;

and tilting the rearfwall 23 upwardly.to.. allow, a clean. When the rear?v sweep ofthe wind through the house.

i-. e. to a h9riell i stat ts i s P Q zont al position, and'held'by suitabli' arranging there- 8. of. the. side. walls so that," I

and 'reerected.

taining rods 27, the wall becomes a sunshade for the hogs who may desire to lie down or wallow outside of the house. Thus the interior of the hog house will remain substantially cool in summner and when closed tight by swinging the rear wall 23 downward and fastening the same at the bolts 26, into place and closing the door 17, reasonably warm in the winter.

It is apparent that the quadrilateral shape of the side walls permits the use of minimum material because the house is given a considerable depth of space at the bottom where such space is utilized by the animals and the upward taper does not detract from this useful space but does save considerable material.

The materials of the hog house can be protected from the Weather and, if desired, made ornamental, by the use of paints, or can be red-leaded, oiled or stained. This external treatment can be done either by the farmer on location or the parts can be thus treated and shipped in that condition.

It will be understood that various modifications and arrangements in structure could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and, accordingly, I desire to comprehend such modifications and substitutions of equivalents as may be considered to come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An animal shelter comprising a bottom member of rectangular configuration, oppositely disposed side walls each having a quadrilateral shape, said side walls having front edges with a greater vertical height than the rear edges thereof, front and rear walls having rectangular configuration and mounted between said side walls, said front wall being vertical and said rear wall converging toward said front wall, detachable elements fastening said front wall to said side walls, said rear wall having flange means along the lateral edges thereof engaging said side walls, a series of additional detachable elements spaced along the length of said flange means and directed through openings in said side walls and said flange means, one of said additional detachable elements being located at the upper ends of said flange means whereby on the removal of the other said additional elements said rear Wall may be pivoted about its upper edge, and a top member pivotally mounted on the upper edge of said rear wall.

2. An animal shelter as claimed in claim 1, with braces on the exterior faces of said side walls adjacent the rear edges thereof, said additional detachable elements being directed through openings in said braces to fasten said rear wall to said side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 852,769 Campbell May 7, 1907 917,862 Hallar Apr. 13, 1909 1,101,418 Eichhorn June 23, 1914 1,272,823 McCarthy July 16, 1918 1,371,950 Tracy Mar. 15, 1921 1,500,266 Primm, Sr July 8, 1924 1,743,603 Heizenreter Ian. 14, 1930 1,875,433 Fitzpatrick Sept. 6, 1932 2,092,155 Hackett Sept. 7, 1937 2,335,708 Strobel Nov. 30, 1943 2,410,221 Latura Oct. 29, 1946 2,445,055 Capaul July 13, 1948 2,498,411 Geib Feb. 21, 1950 2,532,830 Barnhart et al Dec. 5, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 153,426 Great Britain of 1920 

